Proverbs 26:20-28

TEXT Proverbs 26:20-28

20.

For lack of wood the fire goeth out;

And where there is no whisperer, contention ceaseth.

21.

As coals are to hot embers, and wood to fire,

So is a contentious man to inflame strife.

22.

The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels,

And they go down into the innermost parts.

23.

Fervent lips and a wicked heart

Are like an earthen vessel overlaid with silver dross.

24.

He that hateth dissembleth with his lips;

But he layeth up deceit within him:

25.

When he speaketh fair, believe him not;

For there are seven abominations in his heart:

26.

Though his hatred cover itself with guile,

His wickedness shall be openly showed before the assembly.

27.

Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein;

And he that rolleth a stone, it shall return upon him.

28.

A lying tongue hateth those whom it hath wounded;

And a flattering mouth worketh ruin.

STUDY QUESTIONS OVER 26:20-28

1.

A whisperer is to contention like ....... to a fire (Proverbs 26:20).

2.

Are there people who are actually given to working trouble (Proverbs 26:21)?

3.

How are they like dainty morsels (Proverbs 26:22)?

4.

Explain the comparison in Proverbs 26:23.

5.

What does dissembleth mean (Proverbs 26:24)?

6.

Why seven (Proverbs 26:25)?

7.

Reword Proverbs 26:26 into your own words.

8.

Is Proverbs 26:27 a new thought or a continuation of Proverbs 26:26?

9.

What is flattery (Proverbs 26:28)?

PARAPHRASE OF 26:20-28

20.

Fire goes out for lack of fuel, and tensions disappear when gossip stops.

21.

A quarrelsome man starts fights as easily as a match sets fire to paper.

22.

Gossip is a dainty morsel eaten with great relish.

23.

Pretty words may hide a wicked heart, just as a pretty glaze covers a common clay pot.

24-26.

A man with hate in his heart may sound pleasant enough, but don-'t believe him; for he is cursing you in his heart. Though he pretends to be so kind, his hatred will finally come to light for all to see.

27.

The man who sets a trap for others will get caught in it himself. Roll a boulder down on someone, and it will roll back and crush you.

28.

Flattery is a form of hatred and wounds cruelly.

COMMENTS ON 26:20-28

Proverbs 26:20. For a fire to continue it must have fuel. When wood is no longer put on the fire, it will go out as soon as its present supply is consumed. Even so whispering (derogatory talking in privacy) will keep trouble brewing. Sometimes the whisperer moves away (Woe to the place where he or she moves! It too will begin experiencing trouble.), dies, may get converted, or is cornered, confronted, and quieted, and the contention ceases. The scoffer also is a cause of continual contention until he is cast out (Proverbs 22:10: Cast out the scoffer, and contention will go out).

Proverbs 26:21. The whisperer of Proverbs 26:20 is referred to here as a contentious man in this verse, which he is. He may say he doesn-'t want trouble, but he is one to make trouble. He may say he loves everybody involved and is only doing his duty in trying to get things right, but he doesn-'t really love (Romans 13:10), he is not doing his duty (Romans 14:19), and he isn-'t getting things right but making things wrong (Proverbs 16:28). The figure of the fire is continued in this verse: note coals, hot embers, wood to fire, and inflame. Proverbs 15:18 says, A wrathful man stirreth up contention. The church needs to be stirred up all right, but not by contention!

Proverbs 26:22. The same statement is found in Proverbs 18:8. A whisperer is one who goes behind people's backs in talking about them, saying things that are not in the best interest of the ones being spoken about. The verse brings out the sad fact that people are willing to listen to such cowardly, wrong, ruinous talk (they are dainty morsels). They are swallowed without question (They go down into the innermost parts).

Proverbs 26:23. Pulpit Commentary: The next proverbs are concerned with hypocrisy... Silver dross (oxide of lead) is used to put a glaze on pottery...The comparatively worthless article (earthen vessel) is thus made to assume a finer appearance. Thus lips that seem to burn with affection and give the kiss of glowing love may mask a heart filled with envy and hatred. Judas kisses and words of friendship hide the bad feelings that lurk within.

Proverbs 26:24. Pulpit Commentary: The very word here used bears the meaning -to make one's self unknown-'...hence -to make one's self unrecognizable... The man cloaks his hatred with honeyed words...meditating all the time treachery in his heart. Adopting this as the mans allows the rest of the verse to flow and makes this verse go along with the other verses of this section.

Proverbs 26:25. Yes, there are some people just this wicked; their hearts are full of abominations. Jeremiah 9:8 says, There tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he layeth wait for him. So we are not to believe everything some people say.

Proverbs 26:26. Ultimately his sin will find him out as Numbers 32:23 promises concerning sin (your sin will find you out). Somebody with influence, leadership, and wisdom will see through the glaze of deceit and will bring his actions out into the open, and the result is mentioned in Proverbs 26:27.

Proverbs 26:27. The pit or hole that such a one had been digging for someone else becomes the fate of the whispering, contentious deceiver himself. That this is often the deserved outcome of such perverted conduct, see Psalms 7:15-16; Psalms 9:15; Psalms 10:2; Proverbs 28:10; Ecclesiastes 10:8.

Proverbs 26:28. In summary this verse affirms that this whispering tongue was actually a lying tongue, actually hating those it was wounding, and that such a flattering tongue is calculated to work ruin to its victim. What a section of the misuse of the tongue we have just studied!

TEST QUESTIONS OVER 26:20-28

1.

Who is a whisperer (Proverbs 26:20)?

2.

What does a contentious man inflame (Proverbs 26:21)?

3.

Whose innermost parts (Proverbs 26:22)?

4.

What are fervent lips (Proverbs 26:23)?

5.

Adopting what meaning unlocks the sense of Proverbs 26:24?

6.

Why are we not to believe everything some people say (Proverbs 26:25)?

7.

By what means may people's true nature get brought out into the open (Proverbs 26:26)?

8.

Cite two other passages that teach the same as Proverbs 26:27.

9.

How does Proverbs 26:28 summarize the matter of the previous verses?